Washington (26-4) ends its season by advancing to the Elite Eight for the first since the inaugural girls basketball tournament in 1977. The Panthers also set a school record with 26 wins and won the Mid-Illini Conference for the first time since 2006.

“Now, we’ve done all of those (things),” Washington coach Maggie Mose said of her first team’s accomplishments. “Now the bar’s raised a little bit higher. Expectations are high for the future.”

Early in the second quarter, it appeared the Panthers would be adding to their list of accomplishments. Washington led 16-13 just 12 seconds in the frame thanks to a pair of free throws from Tia Sherman (10 points).

JCA, which last advanced to the state finals 29 years ago, responded with a six-point swing. A Jnaya Walker drive off a Christine Ekhomu dish capped the push to give JCA a 19-16 lead at the 5:44 mark.

“They’re very long,” Washington junior Jess Learned said. “They’re very quick in the up court. Once we broke that (trap) a little, it definitely worked, but they were just very, very good.”

But Washington countered with a five-point run in just a 57-second span. Makayla Hartter’s 3-pointer from the left corner in front of the JCA student section gave the Panthers their final lead, 21-19 with 3:56 before halftime.

“I liked our start a lot,” Mose said.

From there, JCA closed the half on a nine-point run and took a 28-21 lead into halftime. With Michigan State recruit Jasmine Lumpkins (14 points, eight rebounds, six steals) at the top of the 1-3-1 halfcourt trap, Washington turned the ball over six times in the second quarter and shot just 22.2 percent (2-for-9) from the field.

“If our energy is right, she’s very, very difficult at the top there,” JCA coach Ed Schodrof said of Lumpkins. “I think the pressure on their ballhandlers was the key.”

Said Mose: “We just went through a couple runs where they got those turnovers that they desire out of that trap and take advantage of it. When they get the ball in transition, they’re nearly impossible to stop.”

Washington fell behind 37-21 by 5:31 of the third quarter. A step-back 3-pointer from Ekhomu and then a jumper in the lane by Nicole Ekhomu (14 points) were included in JCA’s nine-point run to begin the second half.

“We have this mentality where the first three minutes are crucial,” Nicole Ekhomu said. “The first three minutes of third quarter is where we get the job done. That’s what we did tonight.”

The Panthers, who shot 34.9 percent (15-for-43) from the field, never recovered, falling behind by as many as 20.

“This has been the best season I could possible ask for with the best coach I could possibly ask for and I have no regrets,” said Learned, who finished with 11 points. “We’ve had a great season, and it stinks that it’s over, but it was great.”